The National Letter of Intent is intended for students starting college in the subsequent fall post signing and hence is applicable to high school seniors. Students in their junior year or earlier can, however, make a verbal commitment to a program which is non-binding.

Many prospective student athletes don’t sign the letter of intent for a variety of reasons, including not being offered a scholarship or missing the signing window. Some programs afford offer letters outside of the National of Intent, others will just accept verbal commitments and very often it’s a matter of team or coach preference. Check with your coach on the recommended path forward if you are not signing the NLI.

Verbal commitments are non-binding and usually occur in the player’s junior year of high school during an unofficial visit. During the unofficial visit, a coach may offer the player a spot on his or her roster and scholarship money. If the player agrees to the coach’s terms they have made a “verbal commitment.” Through a verbal commitment, the coach and player are expected to honor the agreed upon terms and the player will likely sign an Early National Letter of Intent. Nothing is official until the NLI has been signed but it is very rare that a coach fails to honor a verbal commitment. We recommend being careful with verbal commitments. If a player commits early in his or her junior year, that leaves two years before the start of college golf. And a lot can change in two years!

This is largely a matter of personal preference but signing a National Letter of Intent is generally considered standard procedure at most NCAA DI and DII schools. The main draw is that the NLI provides valuable certainty for both the athlete and college. Some critics have noted that the agreement tends to be rather one sided in favor of the college as it binds the athlete to a college but contains various escape clauses for the college who can ultimately deny your admission or withdraw your scholarship.

Don’t worry. It is rare that a coach signs all their players early in the signing window and so they will likely still need to sign players during the remainder of the NLI signing period. Coaches understand that players can still improve during their senior year and that they deserve consideration. Consider the following tips if you are a Senior and don’t receive an offer or letter right away:

1. After the early window, make note of all players that committed to the school you are interested in and how many spots remain.
2. Maintain a competitive schedule through the spring to keep developing your playing resume.
3. Continue to take official and unofficial visits as often as possible. This is a good way to show coaches how much you want to play for their team.
4. Keep coaches updated with tournament results, upcoming tournament schedules, grades and standardized test scores. Let coaches know how hard you are working and how important it is to get a spot on their team.
5. Ask your coach about their current recruiting situation and where you stand in that equation. It’s much better to get direct answers, even if some coaches say no. You are better off focusing your time and energy on the schools you have a chance with.

Remember: The first three sentences of any note or message you send to a coach are the most important. Be bold and direct to stand out and keep them reading.

It’s important to understand the recruiting calendars for the coaches at your target programs. There will be great opportunities to contact programs at certain points throughout the year and more difficult times to engage at other times.

Some college coaches offer the ability to come on campus to sign the National Letter of Intent and use the signing as a great photo op. Check with your coach on whether they offer this as an option and take advantage of it if you can! Please note that coaches are not allowed to attend signings off-campus or deliver NLI’s off campus.

The NLI is a binding contract, much more than a sheet of paper for you to sign. The institution recruiting you will send you the NLI via express mail, courier service, regular mail, email or fax. The materials you receive will include the details of an offer of athletics financial aid for the entire academic year.

If you sign an NLI with a school make sure you show it off on your Junior Golf Hub Profile! Schools will cease recruiting you, and this will alert the JGH staff of your success in getting recruited! Make sure to change your status under ‘Athlete Information’ at the bottom of the page: under the section titled ‘College Status’ and mark ‘Signed’ and include the name of the College you signed to under ‘College Name’!

Feel free to visit www.nationalletter.org/index.html for more information